Staples Desk Apprentice--talk to me please

[momacacia]

I've coveted one of these for about 2 years now, but just have the feeling it will be a cool gadget I won't end up loving/using. I guess if I sat down and put all dd's schoolwork for the week in there, it would serve a great purpose. But truth is we don't roll like that. I will set up an independent work folder, as suggested by another poster, but our PR and RS just don't seem to fit into something like the Apprentice.

 

So how do you use yours? Is it mostly for mom's stuff or supply storage? Interested in how others use it.

 

I also have this vision of a rolling school that goes all over the house with us, after #3 is born, so 7yo and school will just follow me and I can do it anywhere.:lol:

[Katydid]

Well, first of all, it doesn't roll, it spins. ;)

 

Secondly, you need to know that it's BIG. We have a pretty large desk and the DA takes up nearly half of it. :001_huh:

 

I need to organize mine better, but I really do like it. I like that it holds files (worksheets, maps, finished work, etc.), books (teacher's manuals, workbooks, etc.), writing utensils, and other small desk top doo dads. Ideally, it can hold the stuff we use everyday, but, like I said, I need to organize mine a bit better. Overall, I'm glad I have it, but if you already have a space for all that stuff, then it's probably not the best choice. It is portable, though, so that is a plus (but full it can be a bit heavy).

[Amy Jo]

I put the teacher manuals in the outside pockets - it's great to spin it and grab whichever book I need. Right now I have file folders with worksheets in the middle, but I'm going to move them to my file crate system by week. I'll probably put a few more teacher books in the middle then - some of the ones I use once a week. It holds a lot - I have mine on the bar, where we do our schooling.

[PollyOR]

We have a small house and I had mine for years before I actually found a usable space for it. It sits on top of a 3ft high filing cabinet in my bedroom (aka school room). We used quite a few worksheets this year and the Desk Apprentice has been perfect for that. I use the middle for hanging files and the sides for storing finished work. Not exactly my original vision but it has helped keep the papers under control.

[Donna A.]

I haven't been able to make this work in our home. :confused1: I, too, coveted it for a good two or three years before I finally got to buy it (just happened to be in the store one time when it was on sale and grabbed it), but my dreams for it haven't materialized.

 

I don't know, I think part of the problem was that not long after buying it, we moved to a house that had a large family room with several built-ins, so I just didn't *need* it anymore. Now we've moved again, and I've purged a LOT of stuff and organized what we do have, so I still don't seem to really need this cool tool. Right now it's sitting empty, waiting for me to come up with a purpose for it. My latest idea is that it might be more useful to me when I get my scrapbooking area set up downstairs, rather than for school stuff.

[Caitilin]

W use ours to hold almost all of our school books. (The overflow is going in sterilite "baskets" from Target.) In our house, dd8 and ds10-in-September share grammar, history, science, and religion, so they share a crate--what we call the DAs. Ds11 has his own, and dds14.5 have one they share since they are doing all the same work. Ds11's is a bit "floppy" right now because we don't have all our notebooks loaded in yet, while dds' is FULL, and dd/ds's is close to it. I am thinking their notebooks will have to have a new home! :lol: Pencils live in the pockets on the corners, as do rulers. We have them all lined up along the top of an old, low, formerly-glass-doored bookcase like from a law office. (We got it on Craigslist.) This is perfect, as it puts everything in the DAs at the right height, and the three of them fit just right on top, while the overflow crates sit below on the shelves. I have had them for several years--6 I think!-- and wouldn't trade 'em for anything. :001_smile:

[jujsky]

Both of my kids have these and they keep most of their school books and supplies in them. There is a long bookshelf between their desks, and we sit the desktop apprentices on there, right next to their desks. Before we had these they would waste so much time looking for their supplies. That wasted time is greatly reduced now. I love them! If we used a file-folder system, the middle section could accommodate that, but we don't.

[momacacia]

These are all great thoughts ideas. Not getting used because of decluttering and organization--I can see doing that. Being really useful because I/kids no longer need to hunt things down (HATE that!)--can see that being a great use. I will be wary of the size.

 

So I'm thinking maybe a supply caddy and "pick up/turn in" independent work station at this point!

 

Any other ideas are welcome!

[Pixjen]

I've had one for a couple of years and I just can't get it to fit the way we school. I already have a supply caddy (the Recollections Desktop Carousel) that spins and holds most of our school supplies, and has a small footprint. The DA it just too big for our table, we don't use many worksheets, and lots of our stuff is stored in binders. (BTW, the carousel is deeper than it looks in the pic. That sucker holds a TON of supplies, plus has three working drawers that can hold lots of small things.)

 

However, I did recently buy a Thirty-One Gifts Organizing Utility Tote because of THIS blog post. It seemed like it will give me much of the same organizing ability as the DA, but much smaller and more portable. And if it doesn't work out I can easily use the bag for something else....while my DA sits in my garage gathering dust. Hope this help!

Edited July 24, 2012 by photojenic

[kalanamak]

I have my mainstays (three Rs) right next to the desk each in its own shelf, but everything else (CWP, Meeting the Great Composers, etc) in the DA, along with all back up pens/pencils, rulers, a map of our local area. Basically everything I might need in a day, as opposed to everything I KNOW I'll need in a day. It holds a lot efficiently, it is easy to find things, they don't get lost in the big bookshelf, etc.

 

It isn't small, but I'm glad I have mine.

[greenvneck]

When we were doing school at the kitchen table, it was GREAT for schlepping from place to place...there was room for every sort of tool, files, notebooks, binders, etc. Now that we have a dedicated school area it isn't necessary at all.

 

I do have to admit, I love all of the little pockets and spaces to hang files, but I'm a bit of a filing geek. I know NOBODY else here is. :auto:

[cmp3400]

We have 2 (one for each child) and really, we don't use them much. They are just so big and we school in our "formal" dining room and there is really no place to put them where they look nice.

 

Instead I bought these at Target and it works much better for our space!

 

[meggie]

I love mine. This is how we use it (scroll down to the middle where the pictures start). I just keep everything we need in there so that I don't have to go hunting for anything. Love, love, love!

[A.Balaban]

i am on the covet train. The reason I haven't bought it was cause it is so big and I didn't have a place for it. I found it on sale for $25, and I very nearly bought it. I love how versatile it is! I love desk supplies!